


Half-Life: Minute by Moment

by lechechu



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Alien Planet, Alien Technology, Aliens, Angst, Blood, Blood and Gore, Blood and Violence, Drama, Emetophobia, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional Roller Coaster, Experimental Style, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Near Death Experiences, Out of Body Experiences, Pre-Canon, Pre-Half-Life: Alyx, Violence, War, War violence, World War II, black mesa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:53:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23888509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lechechu/pseuds/lechechu
Summary: A revamped version of the "Interloper" fic.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 14





	1. Who Wants to Live Forever?

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Half-Life: Interloper](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23831599) by [lechechu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lechechu/pseuds/lechechu). 



At first, particles.

They drifted by him, likened to that of dust or lightning bugs in the forests. However, this place was no forest. It was dull, dark, and those particles soon grew to prisms - reflecting an array of lights into colors his mind couldn’t fathom to individually count. They drifted in that anti-gravity, yet never collided with one another, skimming by for a gentle caress, rather than a smash. Hand reached to touch them; their warmth to his fingertips growing ice cold, and those prisms of light to turn even more dull and dark. Mere shapes of glass, deformed and twisted, like glassmakers work. 

They stopped their gentle floating, remaining constant in that buoyancy. In their position, made an outline of a man, silhouetted and broadened - an illusion of the eye. An orb of light, perhaps ball lightning, the silhouette was playing with, tossing it with gentle intent within his hands without the threat of burn or fire. The orb then ceased in mid-air, turning like an old globe or baseball. The shadow’s hands remained out in front of him, before his head slowly turned to the pronounced presence of the soldier, face partly illuminated by that light he previously played with.

Familiar… horrifying familiar. 

A loud screech then echoed within that darkness, causing the prisms to drop from their anti-gravity, and smash upon the floor - pieces spreading like the expansion of the universe, sound reverberating like wind chimes. The screech announced itself again, before fading into something familiar, and the same amount of deafening. 

Deep blue eyes snapped open to the feeling of his squad mate shaking his shoulder. At first, the alarm muffled his yelling voice, before he had once again repeated. Enemy plane approaching from the north. He saw his platoon in a scramble, hurrying to get dressed after spending some time for much needed rest. There was hardly any on the brink of war. And now war was indeed declared, and had been for the years. 

“Alek! Go with Lee to the M1! Shoot the bastards down if you can!” Alek gave a swift nod, buttoning up his uniform before taking hold of his rifle, filing out of the building with his platoon; deep blue eyes glancing up at the skies. Still in the dead of night, war waited for no one. Searchlights scanned the clouds, in hopes to expose the enemy planes before they would expose them to their destruction. The young soldier had found Lee, climbing straight into the tank and dropping inside, turning their cannons upward. 

“I feel like I’m still in a nightmare,” Lee heavily sighed, wiping his face free of any sleep before taking hold of the controls, as Alek manned the gun cabin. Eyes searched the skies through the peephole - heart beating quickly to the sound of plane engines. Thankfully, plane engines that he didn’t recognize from his own nightmares. He caught sight of a wing and fired, aiming accordingly to that silhouette that dipped just beneath the cumulus. He had clipped them, yet with their firepower it was hardly enough to send them down. 

Alek clenched his jaw, trying to keep a good grip on the handle despite the vibrations and movement of the tank traversing up the steep streets. With the angle, it provided an elevation to search more of the skies, and to spot the circling direction of the plane. However, weather wasn’t playing into their factor - the clouds provided a smokescreen to their actual location. 

Eyes had glanced among them, awaiting for any peek the enemy would give. Lee parked the tank on that steep incline, awaiting for any orders Alek might potentially give him for a sense of direction. It felt too quiet now, and the young soldier couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread wash over him. Why weren’t they dropping anything? Swallowing the saliva that pooled in his throat, Alek heard no fighting outside of his tank, almost as if they were the only ones left in the world.

The silence was deafening in itself, anxiety-inducing. Even if they weren’t moving, the shakiness in Alek’s hands returned, causing his fingers to ache from the sudden lock up he gave them. Deep blue eyes glanced out of the peephole, searching those clouds for any sign of enemy life. Deep down - he could have sworn he heard wind chimes, reminding him of a gentle summer breeze. Amongst the dream he previously had.

“... **_Back up._ ** ”

“What?”

“ **_Back up… BACK UP!_ ** ” Alek turned to his fellow soldier within the tank to repeat himself as the sound of plane engines soon filled his ears, and the small whistling noise filled the space around them. Lee quickly placed the tank into drive, and began to drive backwards, hoping to avoid any casualties that were threatening to come. Aimlessly shooting into the sky, the young soldier vented as explosions came forward, bombs dropped in a line to clear the street of barricades or surrounding buildings to crumble, sprouting debris as projectiles.

Feeling the tank come to a rough stop, Lee growled and shook the controls, hoping to wriggle free of what they were caught on. Alek vented in and gazed through the peephole once more, bracing himself for the impact as the explosions creeped closer, like a rainshower to fall upon them. Feeling the front lift into the air, the pale young man gripped hard onto the controls before eventually falling backwards into the driver’s cabin as the tank began to roll down the steep incline.

Returning to the previous location they left from, all was quiet within that cramped space. Muffled gunfire and voices filled the environment, before the smell of smoke and gasoline filled his nostrils. Body twitched in increments, with life, before deep blue eyes wearily opened and closed. Catching sight to the form beside him, Alek flinched backwards, as Lee’s face was no longer recognizable, and instead burnt mush. A lifeless frame to account for what they’ve been through.

Stomach churned to the sight, yet equilibrium failed to announce what position in the tank he was in. Lightly shifting from the other’s body, Alek vented in heavily as his exit was blocked, realizing that they were upside down. However, a gaping hole in the side of the tank provided his new exit, allowing him to climb out of the wreckage with his life. Crawling out onto the grimy, slick streets, the young soldier stood up with the help of a pile of debris, before finally giving into that dizzy spell and horrific sight he endured.

He heaved and hunched over, vomit spilling from his mouth to splash onto those same streets, mixing in with the gasoline that leaked from the surrounding canisters. Shaking lightly, Alek then gazed up as he heard his fellow platoon mates yell coordinates to each other, and for backup. Grabbing hold of a deceased soldier’s rifle, the pale young man lightly limped away from the wreckage to join up with them. 

“Alek!” Catching sight to his friend, the tall soldier pulled him around a corner for cover, patting out some ash that was threatening to burn his hair. 

“ **_Lee’s dead…_ ** ” Panting hard, Alek tried to keep a hold of himself, trying to forget the sight he saw. Hearing a sharp shot hit the wall beside them, the young soldier was then pulled closer to the taller one. The pale young man glanced to his friend’s uniform, skimming over the name tag before gazing up to the other’s face.

“They got a sniper, about 40 yards to the north. Motherfuckers must have moved in the dead of night before launching the attack. We can’t do shit unless it’s dealt with but they’re keeping us pinned. I’m going to see about getting around this mess.”

“ **_Sampson, that’s suicide._ ** ”

“Hell, someone’s gotta do it! Just distract them as much as you can!” Pushing the rifle closer to the other, Sampson then left through an alleyway, leaving Alek behind to defend the line. Lightly spitting out some gross bile, the young man then pressed against the building to take cover from the sniper shots. 

Even if it was the dead of night, no peace ever came to them. Explosions, bombs, and gunfire reminded them that this was a night to deal with; sleep was no way a top priority. Adrenaline fueled most of their energy, the need to survive such an onslaught of terror. Over the course of hours, the fight had diminished, but hardly stopped.

There were moments of peace, no gunfire to ring out across the street or from their proposed side of the spectrum. Alek stayed against that building, wondering if his friend indeed made it to the other side. Deciding to test, the young soldier lightly moved to the edge and stuck his hand out around the corner, fingers lightly flexing in hopes to gain any attention that might have been left behind.

Silence fell over the street before Alek had quickly moved his hand away just in the nick of time, sighing as the sniper was indeed still present and accounted for, just patiently waiting for either of them to stick their heads out. Sighing heavily, the young soldier hoped his friend at least got a general direction of where the sniper might be, perhaps the muzzle flash revealed the location within that dark shroud of night. 

“This is fucking bullshit.”

“Simmons, pipe down.” Looking over to the rookie private, the commander kept himself planted against a barricade.

“Sampson should have been back by now. What’s he doing? Jerking off?”

“Simmons! I said  _ pipe down _ . You can’t rush perfection. War waits for nobody,  _ we _ wait for war,” The Sargeant narrowed his eyes at the other, before glancing over to Alek, “What did I first say to these soldiers during bootcamp, Alek?”

“ **_Expect the unexpected._ ** ”

“ _ Exactly _ . We are to expect the unexpected, no matter how long we have to wait for it.” 

“Jesus Christ, we didn’t expect it to take this long though!”

“Simmons, you’re welcome to try and take out that sniper faster than your momma gave birth to you. Go ahead!” The Sargeant yelled at the soldier, watching as Simmons hesitated before deciding to remain quiet and hide against the building for cover.

“No? No attempts? Then shut your mouth!” The Commander yelled before settling behind his barricade after scolding the rookie, leaving Alek to smirk lightly in amusement to the other’s ass getting handed to him. Still, the deep, hidden thought at the back of his mind also wondered - where in the hell was Sampson?

The minutes ticked by, and soon the sun rose from its slumber, providing the light that stung their tired eyes. Taking a sip of water from his canteen, Alek tried to keep himself awake, ignoring the headache that was brought on by the exhaustion of waiting. Many of the soldiers were still awake with sheer fear alone, wondering who was going to make the first shot. It was a bit unnerving - as no plane engines were heard in the vicinity.

They couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. However, one of the soldiers finally started making complaints once more. Simmons, the one who couldn’t stay settled for the life of him. He stepped out, momentarily, checking his gun and aiming down the sights. It wasn’t until the proverbial blast of a tank shook them to their very core. The last he had seen of his face, Alek watched as the shot tore into the soldier’s head and neck, rendering him decapitated.

The sheer amount of blood spilled could put any fountain to shame.

“Fire!” The Commander yelled as the battle finally commenced once more, as their alliance loaded up any gun they got their hands on. Loading bullets into his own rifle, Alek peeked around the corner, delivering the shots into a few enemy soldiers that dared to try and push their frontlines back some more. Pressing his shoulder against the bricked wall, the young soldier flinched as the tank unleashed shots into the barricade, sparking up debris and rubble.

Ringing filled his ears upon the close proximity, fingers returned to shakiness, causing the reloading speed of his Garand to be of no help to his fellow squadron. Taking a deep breath, Alek then finally managed to insert the bullets into the barrel, cocking back the receiver before taking aim. There was still the issue of the sniper however, as the pale young man was forced to go behind the cover once more, to avoid meeting the same fate as others before him.

The enemy tank was relentless, practically blowing up the buildings around them for the sheer happenstance of getting them caught under the heavy rubble. Everything felt weary for him, smoke and dust clouding their vision. Clenching his eyes shut, Alek dropped low to the floor to take cover from another blast, hearing his commander yell through the smokescreen.

“Alek!” Venting in heavily, the young soldier gripped onto his rifle and slowly stumbled to his feet, running over to his commander and dropping behind the barricade. Waving the smoke away from his face, the pale young man glanced to his Sargeant’s injuries before making an attempt to stop the bleeding. The building that was blown into debris and projectiles managed to hit him good, and in a vital place.

Unfortunately, Alek was no medic.

The previous battle they endured caused their field medic to be out of commission, recovering from a shotgun blast to the face. It was a sight not to behold, yet at this point Alek knew not to expect anything less of terrifying nature. Bloody hands soon gripped onto his uniform jacket.

“You… you have to get around the r-ridge. Find S-Sampson! Destroy the sniper before the b-bastards call in the planes!” Alek vented as he was shook some before eventually being released, as the light left his commander’s eyes, and his movement to deaden. Any attempts to revitalize him would prove to have no effect. Lightly hanging his head, Alek then flinched at the explosion nearby his location, and took hold of his Commander’s Beretta, making a break for an alleyway.

He could hear his squad make the decision to start pushing back; they were practically dropping like flies. Tossing his rifle away, Alek stuffed the pistol into his holster and made the bold decision to follow the same path Sampson had taken, knowing it could either save them or end them entirely. It was worth a try, and it needed to be done. 

Climbing over rubble and debris, Alek kept himself pressed against the wall, hoping to avoid being spotted out in the open streets. While going alone was dangerous, going without a rifle was even more so. He had hoped his commander’s handgun was indeed loaded and accounted for, sparking the need to pat his holster to make sure he kept it close. Feeling the outline of the gun, the young soldier made his way down another alleyway, moving in a north east direction. 

His legs hurt and his head pulsed with pain from exhaustion and dehydration, however there was hardly enough time to stop and take a rest. The battle was still ongoing, and the minute by moment counted for each of them. Panting shallowly as his feet burned from the constant running and walking, Alek caught sight to a faded yellow building in the distance. It was a bit far off, but close by to deliver a good sniper’s nest to camp out in. Glancing around the empty streets, the pale young man ignored the grotesque smells that emanated from the deceased civilians, piled up within those alleyways. 

About to run out, the young soldier then cowered as an enemy tank was making its way down the street, before being ultimately halted in place, due to his alliance’s quick thinking. They had plans to come up behind them, to pin them down and catch them off-guard. Running into another alleyway, Alek grunted as the tank exploded from the gunfire delivered, covering his ears. They rung and muffled his hearing, before ultimately returning to their previous clearance. 

Deep blue eyes gazed back at the destruction behind him before returning to the path in front - in a way, he had hoped amongst those piles of the dead he wouldn’t see an old, familiar face. Coming to a corner, Alek paused momentarily to catch his breath and peek out to the empty streets, eventually glancing up to the yellow building with the roof missing. He waited, watched, hitching his breath as he saw the muzzle flash spark from one of the windows on the top floor.

Looking to the skies momentarily, the young soldier then glanced back to the yellow building once the coast was clear, traversing out of his own building and into another, as the alleyways he could use were subsequently closed off. Thankful that the sniper didn’t take notice of him, and would rather much keep his platoon at bay, Alek entered the crumbling building beside it, taking a moment to rest his aching legs. 

Hearing the sniper shots in close proximity, a noise behind him caught him off guard; taking the pistol out of his holster to aim. Instead, he was met by no one, yet only the sight that he had hoped to not come across. 

Expect the unexpected.

Slowly approaching his friend, the pale young man knelt down to the other. The image burned into his mind - Sampson was tortured, likely to have been caught in the previous hours they waited at the front. He tried to fight back it seemed, as blood was caked under his fingernails. Yet, it did not help him. The left side of his face beaten in with a blunt object, in attempts to disguise his original expression. 

Alek tenderly touched the limp hand of his friend, before hanging his head in mourning. Hearing the sniper shot however, knocked his mourning to a quick close, remembering that they were still in the warzone. Reaching into the other’s uniform, the young soldier apologized silently, taking hold of the dog tags from around his neck. Looking over the etched metal, Alek then moved his friend’s body up against the wall, folding his hands across his chest. 

“ **_... Godspeed._ ** ”

Glancing to the building beside theirs, Alek inhaled deeply, returning to stand, stuffing his friend’s dog tags into his pocket. He gazed at the other soldier momentarily before moving to grab a hold of the Arisaka beside him, checking the clip for ammunition. Seeing as he had a few bullets left, it should have been plenty to end the sniper once and for all. To turn the tide in this monstrous war.

Making his way to the pile of rubble the pale, young man tried to avoid making as much noise as possible as he climbed over, bricks shifting under his boot and threatening to give way to his attempt to intrude. Climbing the debris up to the second floor, he remained quiet to get a determining factor of where the sniper was indeed at. He knew for sure they were in the upper levels, but what room?

What room could have a clear view of their frontlines to pick off from? Swallowing the saliva that pooled in his mouth, Alek narrowed his brow as he made his way to a stairway, slowly ascending. He paused, in those moments, gritting his teeth as the wood creaked beneath his steps.

Even if the enemy tank rumbled the building he was in, he took that opportunity to walk up the steps to shield the noise, covering his face with his jacket to suppress the need to cough the dust out of his lungs that fell from the ceiling. Once that sniper shot went off, it was clear just how close he was getting. Another floor, and he should be at the exact location of where the enemy was. 

Deep blue eyes blinked free of dust as he ascended, catching sight to a door that was partly ajar. Glancing within, Alek lightly stepped back to avoid being seen, as the sniper within was busy reaching into a container filled with bullets, reloading his gun to begin picking off anyone down in the streets below once more. 

Slowly stepping inside, deep blue eyes lightly clenched and blinked to get rid of the dust that fell in. Hands slowly lifted the rifle within, aiming at the enemy’s head. If he was correct, it should be finished at point blank, with no chance of missing. It was either his life or the enemy’s. He aimed down the sight, before touching his finger to the trigger, lightly curling around it. The shakiness returned - he was deeply frightened. 

His lungs burned from the air held within, causing him to release his breath sharply and for his finger to pull the trigger. Except, no shot came. The bullet was lodged in the barrel; and it appeared his deceased friend had the same problem.

He was fucked.

Hearing the breath of the other, the enemy quickly turned around yelled, causing Alek to flinch at being caught and the rifle to drop from his hands. Turning his sniper to the other, the enemy soldier was then smashed into by Alek, avoiding the shot that was taken. They wrestled, and the young soldier managed to get the other’s rifle out the window and to the streets below. He was wailed on, however, forced to the hardwood floor to endure the onslaught of punches to his face. 

The pale young man struggled to get the other off of him, trying to reach for the gun in his holster. Grabbing hold of his Beretta, the enemy aimed it at Alek’s head, cocking it back and shooting. Clenching his eyes shut to the deafening sound, Alek then slowly reopened them, breath hitching to the new environment he was in.

A hallway.

Everything was bright and clean, compared to the wartorn environment he was last in. He glanced to the wall beside him, trying to read the signs that were subsequently mosaiced and difficult to make out. It looked like some kind of… facility. Hospital, perhaps? No, no nurses or wounded around. Slowly taking a few steps to start off, the young man glanced down another hallway he passed, spotting none in sight. Was he dead?

Coming to another corridor, he glanced into one of the windows off to his left, spotting a man in a freshly pressed, navy-blue suit and holding a briefcase within one of the offices. His back was turned, and it wasn’t until a minute later did he turn to face Alek, staring at him with illuminated eyes. Almost as if deja vu, his previous nightmare with the prisms were now being experienced again. He felt all color drift out of him, upon the realization that this man wasn’t just an ordinary man in this unordinary place.

It was himself.

Backing up in fear, Alek took off running down the corridor of where he came, only to find that nothing was left of it. Just an empty pit of darkness. Turning back around, that same darkness enveloped him, leaving him to be out of that bright environment, and into a place that was hardly recognizable to man. He panted hard, feeling the anxieties rise up in his throat as he didn’t know what this was, as elongated stars slowly drifted through the dark space around him.

This was surely hell. He was dead and now he was paying the price of fighting in war. Footsteps then filled his ears, as they echoed around the young man with no sensible direction. He glanced at the shadows that were darker than that realm he was in, watching them pause just a mere 5 feet away, in a circle. They stared, like he was some sort of subject. Ceasing his shallow panting, Alek watched as a familiar scene was before him. 

Himself, being shot by the enemy in the war he was fighting. 

“ _ Take the shot… _ ” Whispers filled his head, almost beckoning or enticing him to change the fate that was set out for him. He felt afraid, wondering just what exactly was happening to him. Seeing himself, from a third-person point of view about to get eliminated was horrifying. Glancing to his own hand, he glanced to the Beretta within, shakily realizing what they wanted to be done.

“ **_I… why…?_ ** ” Lightly swallowing, Alek glanced around at the shadows that stared at him, hand lightly shaking as their illuminated eyes burned into his very soul. Glancing back down to the scene before him, he lifted to aim the handgun to the enemy soldier, finger lightly curling around the trigger. Was this the right thing to do? He didn’t want to die… yet his mind was screaming at him not to do it. 

Clenching his deep blue eyes, Alek lightly shook his head at the whispers that filled his mind. They clouded his very way of thinking - the moral compass going haywire. If he ended that enemy soldier’s life, then he himself would live… right? Deep blue eyes opened to the scene before him, staring at his young self that was cowering at the bullet threatening to enter his head and tear himself away from the world of the living.

Another failure to protect the country he signed up to do. Heartbeat pulsed in his ears, practically in the environment he was in, before the gun was raised once more, aiming to the enemy sniper. Gritting his teeth, the young pale man then clenched his deep blue eyes as the shot rang out in the environment. And in that momentary flash, came the flash of illuminated eyes over his shoulder before entering that shroud of darkness. Silence, and nothing more.


	2. Perception

Shallow breathing echoed in that darkness, his heartbeat pulsing within his ears. Irregular, hardly following the path of normalcy. He could hear faint sounds of fighting, airplanes and gunfire with muffled explosions. Like an orchestra in the next room. Chest rose and fell with his shallow breathing, as deep blue eyes gazed down at himself - dress in shapeless, white clothing. Liken to that of mist or fog, they covered him as he lifted his arms to inspect the fabric. 

The veins in his arms pulsed with luminescence, pumping something other than blood. Breath had quickened, as he gazed into the darkness around him, shaking lightly to the strange sensation filling his body. Similar to the coldest ice, vapors released from his clothes and face, body heat escaping his very frame and singularity. Illuminated eyes stared down at him, a circle once more; whispering amongst each other with quick words before eventually silencing as Alek was dropped from their realm, as if he was thrown from a high-rise building.

Watching the silhouettes fade from view, Alek felt his soul re-enter his body, snapping awake and gripping onto the hospital cot to regain his ground. The nurse beside him flinched lightly to his sudden moment, watching the young, pale man gaze around in a slight panic. 

“It’s alright, you’re safe. For now at least.” Gazing over to the brunette woman, Alek inspected her eyes momentarily before glancing around the makeshift medical clinic they were in. He spotted some fellow alliance members, recovering from broken legs or gunshot wounds to their chest or back. The young soldier then looked down at himself, touching his bare chest as he was no longer in uniform.

“I took the liberty of relieving you of your uniform - had to make sure you weren’t shot up when they found you. After all, there was a lot of blood on you. But when I examined you, you didn’t even have one scratch.” The nurse picked up her clipboard to write some information on. Alek quietly touched his chest, almost wondering if this body was truly his. He then lifted the sheet that covered him before venting out slowly as it was indeed his.

“Honestly, you should count your lucky stars. A strong, young man like you shouldn’t be throwing yourself into danger.” Alek blinked and slowly gazed up at the woman, her English accent shielding much of her attempt at flirtation. Her eyes spoke it all however, before she shyly looked back to the clipboard within her hands. Sitting there in confusion, the young soldier couldn’t wrap around himself still being alive. 

He thought for sure he was dead.

“Lieutenant Alek J. Seyit, age… 24, in good health.” The nurse glanced over to him and gave him a smile before glancing up as an older gentleman, dressed respectfully came over to Alek’s beside. Glancing over to the man, the young soldier then realized who it was, moving to salute to the general. 

“At ease. Leave us.” The General then glanced at the nurse, who then took her leave after checking the saline amount. Alek watched the nurse leave before glancing up to his superior. 

“... What you did was  _ very _ irresponsible. Going out alone, without so much as a fellow squad mate to cover your six is about as dangerous as running out in the middle of a field, _ buck naked _ towards a line of panzers.” Lightly inhaling as he was scolded, the young soldier then watched as the General then gave a heavy sigh.

“But… what you did was very helpful. You managed to take out that sniper and allow us to push back their infantry, well past Heathrow. We claimed much of the province back, thanks to you and some hefty reinforcements from our side. So… I was originally going to dock you for that, but seeing as how beneficial it was in the long run, I’m willing to let this slide.” The General lightly folded his hands behind his back. 

“But don’t you dare get any ideas. This was a one-time thing, you understand me, soldier?” Lightly nodding in agreement, Alek watched as the General then gave a nod back before unfolding his hands and tilting his hat down, eventually turning on his heel and walking away. 

“That’s a first! Never seen anyone make the General angry and happy at the same time.” One of his fellow soldiers, a few beds down from him called out, chuckling lightly as he lit up a cigarette, listening in to their conversation. 

“Indeed, count your lucky stars,” the soldier had grinned to Alek before looking to the nurse that was previously tending to him while he was unconscious. The young soldier glanced over to the same nurse before eventually blinking his eyes as a film came over them, making it hard to see. Almost like a mist filled the room. Clenching his eyes shut and reopening them once more, the fog was now gone, and he was left to sit by his lonesome self.

What was happening?

Quietly venting in, Alek simply laid back against the hospital cot, deep blue eyes studying the ceiling before eventually closing to endure the onset exhaustion the befell him. In this moment of peace, he’ll take all the rest he could get.

As the night crept into life, Alek lightly shifted within the cot, hearing the gentle whispers that held no meaning, but much rather a haunting breath. Snapping awake, the young soldier sat up in his hospital bed, feeling an overwhelming sickness wash over him. Hurriedly, he stumbled to the nearest bucket, retching and clenching his eyes shut as his stomach spilled the contents into it. Heaving and coughing hard, the pale young man retched again, hands shaking to the traumatizing experience. 

He had never felt so sick in his life - and he originally had bouts of food poisoning before, but not even to this degree. Dysentery, at the most, but never vomiting. He had a stomach of steel, it was only during stressful situations where his body would cease up and hell could break loose. Within the minute, he had filled the bucket to it’s halfway point, just with his fluids alone. Breathing shallowly through his mouth, to save his olfactory from inducing another round, Alek swallowed lightly, only to find himself gagging once more.

However, not by sickness, but choking.

Something was lodged in his throat, he could feel it. His body began to go into panic mode, causing him to get up from the floor and to a nearby sink, turning on the light. Opening his mouth, the pale young man gagged again, coughing as his air supply was starting to get cut off. Making the bold decision to reach down his throat, Alek gagged again as his fingers grabbed hold of the object within, pulling it up and out to fall into the sink, before coughing up bile mixed in with blood. 

Panting hard and gripping the porcelain, Alek glanced down at the object, before moving to wash it free of blood and vomit, holding it in the palm of his hand. Moving closer to the light to examine it, the younger soldier furrowed his brow in confusion to the piece of metal.  _ That _ was lodged in him? He couldn’t recall ever ingesting such an object.

It was twisted and buffed, mostly like due to his churning, stomach acids, but the length of it was what confused him the most. No longer than a wire nail, the kind used to hang up paintings. How could he ingest something like that, and never took notice? Glancing at himself in the mirror, the young soldier then touched his chest, in hopes to calm the anxieties that were sprouting up. Something indeed happened to him, while he was unconscious. 

But no one gave him answers. 

Looking around to see if any of his fellow soldiers took notice, Alek then glanced back to the object in his palm, before eventually tossing it away and turning off the light. Backing away from the sink, the pale young man soon returned to his cot, stuffing his face into his hands. Was he the only one really noticing this? Lightly moving to lay back on his bed, deep blue eyes returned to glance up at the ceiling. He was afraid to fall asleep, unsure if he would endure another nightmare. 

Yet exhaustion had taken the reign, knocking the man unconscious to sleep off the sickly feeling he still endured. However, that didn’t stop the oncoming nightmares to occur due to stress. He was shrouded in darkness, inside of an old apartment building. It reminded him of European architecture and decoration, yet none of it pinpointed his actual location. Labels on old food containers were mosaiced, yet some were strangely packaged. Reflective plastic with a mirror-like finish, or syringes filled with a blue liquid. 

Seeing a blue and red flash outside of the window, Alek softly vented in concern, as he felt like he was compromised. Approaching the window with slow intent, fingers lightly ghosted over the curtain that hid the outside world. Lungs filled with air, the young soldier was about to slide the curtain over, until the sound of a radio began to play behind him. Turning towards the music, the lieutenant had spotted a radio sitting in the middle of the hardwood floor, playing the classical tunes with mildly warped chimes.

_ Chimes _ …?

The young soldier listened to the radio and slowly moved away from the window, watching as the room the radio was in slowly became shrouded in darkness. Soon, the classical song on the radio echoed its final note, and for Alek’s heart to begin racing with uncertainty. The silence was deafening; he would have preferred those warped tunes over it. Unsettling whispers soon filled the air around him, before a pair of hands had shown themselves within that darkness.

Fingers curled and beckoned the young soldier to come closer - despite everything in his body telling him not to, Alek stepped forward before pausing as a wind current filled the room he was in, and the ceiling light above him to flicker. He heard the sound of crows, and a vibration to the air as he began to move forward towards the pair of hands. Unconsciously making the decision to grab them, the lieutenant then clenched his eyes shut as the wind current grew stronger, and the apartment around him to get sucked into a vortex of nothingness. 

Letting go of the hands, Alek grunted as he slid along the floor towards that darkness, eventually grabbing onto a door frame to save himself. Holding on tight, the soldier yelled in that vacuum avoiding the projectiles of items within the apartment, such as chairs, paintings and dishes. Squinting his eyes to the rough wind, feeling his hair get ruffled and messed, the lieutenant then eventually clenched his eyes shut as a means of other projectiles not a part of the complex he was in, started to file through that vortex. 

Tanks, plane engines, rifles and cartridges of ammunition flung past his very being as he held onto that door frame. It wasn’t until the hands from before grabbed a hold of his legs, yanking him down roughly to get pulled into that same vortex, causing the doorframe to break off from where he was holding, and into that realm of darkness.

Falling off of his hospital cot, Alek grunted as he hit the floor hard, panting heavily from being woken up due to the impact. Rushing over to his side, the nurse touched his back, blinking as the other flinched from her touch, crawling away from her.

“Hey, you just had another nightmare, it’s alright. Calm down.” The lieutenant glanced up at the nurse momentarily before the surrounding medical clinic he was in. Kneeling down to him, the brunette woman then smiled lightly.

“I guess you’re one to have a lot of nightmares, aren’t you? Don’t worry, no judgement from me. Let’s get you back up onto the bed, alright? It won’t look good on my part to have one of my patients on the floor, now would it?” Slowly starting to calm down, the lieutenant then climbed back upon onto the cot, sitting there before rubbing his face. 

“It’s quite surprising, honestly. You’ve slept for 14 hours without so much as moving an inch, yet the next minute I look at you… you’re on the floor.” Avoiding eye contact with the other, Alek stared to the floor he got up from, before eventually glancing to the hand that came to his own. The young soldier then gazed up to the nurse who touched him.

“Man of few words, aren’t you?”

“He’s Russian, he can’t speak a lick of English other than  _ fuck, shit, and shoot _ .” Chiming in, a soldier within another bed chuckled and shook the small carton of matches to see how many he could possibly guess was still left in there. The nurse lightly rolled her eyes and looked to the ragged man beside them.

“I’m sure he knows more words than you.”

“Wanna bet, sweetheart? Hey Alek, can you recite the entire US Anthem?”

“Oh come on, anyone not from your country can’t possibly recite it. Probably people  _ from _ your country can’t remember the words either.” The nurse huffed and stood up from Alek’s bedside, moving to check the other soldiers to keep herself busy. The soldier simply chuckled and shook his head, watching the brunette leave.

“She’s a dame, ain’t she? I love me a fiery girl.” 

“Mr. Seyit, you can go now. I’m discharging you.” The nurse looked over at Alek.

“What about me?”

“Oh heavens, if only I could. Unfortunately you’re still in my care.” The nurse rolled her eyes once more to the soldier’s attempt at flirting, ignoring his catcall when she walked past. Alek simply ignored the conversation and got redressed, buttoning up his uniform.

Taking a hold of his friend’s dog tags, the lieutenant looked over the metal before placing it within his pocket, moving to head outside to see what he had indeed missed. He caught sight to some of his platoon members moving some gasoline canisters to the middle of the street. 

“Hey! Alek! Come give us a hand! Nice to see that sniper didn’t knock ya dead.” Moving over to his squad mates, the lieutenant took hold of one canister, looking at it in confusion upon why they were piling them up in the street.

“A war journalist came over from the States, we’re going to take a commemorative photo of holding down the fort.” Smirking and patting the other’s back, the heavy-set soldier moved to sit on one of the canisters, as the platoon gathered in their respected spots. 

“Come on Alek! Get in here!” Lightly inhaling, the young soldier moved to sit at the end, or rather crouch as there wasn’t much space left. Before the photo could be taken from the old camera, Alek took out his deceased friend’s dog tags from his pocket, holding it within his hand. It wouldn’t have been the same without him, the least they could do was carry his legacy in the timeless photo. 

Once the flash went off, Alek lightly narrowed his eyes as the sickness like before soon came over him, hardly finding effort to keep focus for another photo they wanted to take. Lightly swallowing, the lieutenant then took off as the camera flash went off once more, causing his squad mates to groan in disapproval as the pale, young man ruined their masterpiece.

Approaching the sink and catching the attention of the nurse, the brunette woman went to the soldier’s side, wondering what was indeed wrong with him. He looked so sick, and even paler than usual. Glancing at himself in the mirror, Alek vented in as blood began to seep from his nose, a gentle stream with no intention of stopping. Grabbing a cloth for him to use, the young soldier pressed it to his nose in hopes to stop the vermillion, yet to no avail. Whispers filled his head, as deep blue eyes returned to the mirror in front of him.

“Are you alright?” The nurse had asked, watching as Alek stood in silence, almost too silently. Deep down, he couldn’t tell if the wind chimes he was hearing were real, or just his imagination. However, what he did hear was all clear to him. Yet no one was responding in a way they should. Droning noise…  _ familiar _ droning noise. Dropping the rag from his philtrum, the lieutenant ran back to the doorway, glancing to his squad mates who were sitting around on the canisters, talking with one another. Inhaling deeply, the young soldier’s voice rang out along the street with power.

“ **_STUKA!_ ** ”

Glancing to the lieutenant then turning their eyes to the sky, the soldiers tried to listen in for the familiar noise, soon coming to realize just how much deep shit they were in once that noise filled their ears, loud and proud. Taking hold of their rifles, they glanced up to the clouds that overcasted their location, hoping to spot the planes first before the enemy spotted them instead.

Once the planes dropped low, it was already too late, as they began unleashing the bombs. Alek dropped to the floor and covered his head to shield himself from the close proximity of explosions, ears ringing and muffled as the buildings collapsed around him. Clenching his eyes shut, the lieutenant tried to remain still as the bombs came in a sporadic line, striking the canisters in the middle of the street to act as a bomb in itself.

Total annihilation, before silence filled the skies once more - the droning no longer providing that sense of fear and dread amongst him. Lightly shifting under the rubble, Alek slowly lifted his head from underneath his arms, lightly blinking the dust and smoke free from his eyes, and coughing the ash out of his lungs. Trying to see through the foggy aftermath, the young lieutenant wiped blood from his nose and ears, stumbling to his feet.

He could hear the muffled screams of his squad mates, before their grave injuries had silenced them once and for all. The smell of gasoline and burnt flesh, left the young soldier to gaze back at the medical clinic he emerged from; it was practically ruins now, and doubted any survivors could have come out from it. The ceiling was collapsed in, tons of debris weighing down anyone underneath. He was lucky; the doorframe where he took shelter under was the only thing left of safety.

His legs shook with unsurety as he gazed at the destruction around him. Once the smoke had cleared, it was simple; he was the only one left. Glancing down at his feet, Alek glanced to the war journalist’s camera before dropping to his knees and taking hold of it within his hands. Deep blue eyes gazed at the cracked glass lens, staring at the reflection within. He was grimey, dusty, and face stained with his own blood.

Slowly lifting his head to the skies, Alek flinched to the droplets of rain that pattered against his face, like small kisses to his disheartening experience. However, once the rains started to fall, the return of the droning noise came about, leaving the already petrified soldier in complete fear. 

Slowly glancing to his left, the droning noise faded into another new noise - the sound of enemy tanks coming up to his position. Lightly venting as the grime was washed from his face and hands, Alek glanced to the enemy soldiers who drew their guns to him, their expressions almost in amusement to the battle they already won. Lightly inhaling, the chimes returned to his muffled hearing, before his deep blue eyes illuminated to a desirable blue glow.

The lieutenant heard the whispers fill his head, and soon a smirk crawled along his lips, catching the enemy off-guard. Before the soldiers could provide the final sentencing, they took notice to the sound of a screeching violin, being blown back by a pulse of energy, sending them flying into nearby buildings or each other, and those who were on foot were no longer their human remains. Instead - dust. Solemnly staring at the destruction he delivered, Alek then shook his head to snap out of the trance, venting in as he felt dizzy.

Panting lightly, the young soldier gazed around the area, venting in at the newfound destruction to his left. Did he do that? Swallowing the pool of saliva in his mouth, Alek took hold of the camera in his hands as he stood, shakily wobbling like a deer on ice. Torrents of rain fell along the area; feeling dead inside, unsure. He had no one to tell him anything of a mission, as most of the supplies were already destroyed from the attack. He was asking more questions than receiving answers, as the only thing he could think of was to find a source of help.

He walked, aimlessly, for what seemed like hours - hands clutching the last piece of memory of his platoon, all within the camera. Once he snapped out of his induced trance did he realize he made it to the shore depot, gazing at the long line of people that were anxiously awaiting to board a ship to escape the clutches of war. Many of them were also war torn, grimey and dusty. Some were crying, grasping at what little items they had to remind them of their loved ones who died either by war or natural causes.

Deep down, something had told him to enter that line, to escape his own clutches of the nightmare. Which nightmare it was - he didn’t know. The only sort of direction he had was to leave this place, find… find any sort of  _ explanation _ to account for his strange… happenings. Why he seemed to escape death a lot more than other people had, or the chimes he was hearing. He entered that line, with the same anxiousness of the passengers, glancing at various signs that called for people to have proper identification to be allowed on board.

The closer he got, the more his throat closed with anxiety. He saw many people get turned away, only the seemingly wealthy and credentialed were allowed. Gripping the camera close, almost with fear of it being taken away, Alek approached up to the guard once he was next, trying to understand the question that was asked of him.

It was muffled, mosaiced in a way, that prompted the young lieutenant to lean forward in misunderstanding, in hopes to have the other repeat what he just said. Credentials, he wanted, yet it was credentials he didn’t have. Taking a step back as the guard asked him again, obviously not in the mood to play games, Alek tried to think of what to say. Yet no words came to mind. Instead, his trance returned, and his expression grew stoic.

Deep blue eyes holding a sense of demand. The guard was taken aback by the sudden expression change, before squinting his eyes and tilting his head lightly to the side in curiosity; hypnosis.

The more he looked, the soldier’s pupils reflected a small sliver of blue light within. Lightly inhaling, the guard took a step back before saluting slowly, allowing Alek on board the liner. Turning on his heel, the pale young man entered into the ship, venting in sharply as the trance dispersed, and he caught himself on the doorframe, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass. Once it did, the young soldier glanced to the other passengers that were granted access onboard, among the wealthy and beneficial. 

They lingered around, awaiting to be filed into their rooms as if this was a simple vacation boat liken to that of the Titanic. Glancing down to the camera in his hands, Alek soon took a seat amongst an old couple, ignoring the looks they gave him. He was obviously dressed way different - in soldier’s uniform, dirty and soaked to the bone from the rain. It was a wonder how someone like him ever got on board.

“Were you on the line?” The woman had asked, gazing up to the dusty, grimey face of the young man. Not receiving a response, the woman then glanced to what was most likely her older husband, who also glanced at Alek.

“He’s got a  _ Russian _ demeanor. Most likely part of the opposing force.”

“Roger, stop. We’re all opposing forces. Everyone’s at war with everybody. Besides, he’s got alliance tags on, he’s fighting with us.” The woman lightly hit the older man’s hand to his rude interaction before gazing back to the soldier beside her. She soon touched his hand, causing Alek to flinch at the contact, and for his hand to pull away from her, causing the woman to return her hand away from the other. 

“... I’m sure you’re very scared, but we’re going to be okay.” Slowly turning his head to look at the woman, Alek then returned his vision to the camera in his hands, wondering if the film was still inside and still intact. The photo he took, moments before they were blown away. Dead eyes soon glanced down to the floor, as the experience replayed in his mind like a vinyl on loop, over and over - a constant waking nightmare.

“Do you have a room, boy?” The woman spoke again, as the young soldier simply shook his head, keeping his eyes to the floor. Lightly fixing her coat, the older woman then glanced over to her husband, before gazing back to Alek.

“You’re welcome to take our room. We can always get another.” Taken by surprise to the keys that were handed to him, Alek glanced up at the old woman finally, before lightly bowing his head to her, in a gentle thanks. He did not expect kindness from anyone, let alone complete strangers. As the ship departed from shore, the pale young man took the liberty of checking out the room he was allowed into, opening the door to peek inside. 

All color had left him.

Inside, was the same layout of the apartment in his previous nightmare. Eyes clenched as he slammed the door shut, Alek panted lightly and shook, hand gripping onto the doorknob. That couldn’t be real, could it? Swallowing the saliva pooling in his mouth, the lieutenant slowly opened the door once more, peeking inside. No longer did the interior represent the apartment, and instead of a small bed and bathroom. 

Glancing down the opposite end of the hallway outside his room, Alek then slowly entered and closed the door behind him, unsure of what might occur to him. As nothing came, he lowered his guard a bit, setting the broken camera onto the end table before examining the small room he was in. He didn’t dare to look out the window, afraid of what might stare back. Instead, the young soldier simply went to the corner of the room to sit on the floor, cuddling his legs and stuffing his face into his knees.

Letting his anxiety take full sector sweep.


	3. Disclaimer

He took some time to recuperate. Once his anxiety attack managed to be subdued, the young soldier pulled himself to the shower, to rinse away all that dirt and blood that caked his hair, as well as warm up from being in rain-soaked clothes for the majority of the hour. And it was still heavily raining; droplets pattering against his window, loud enough to mistake for gunfire. Of course, this ship was old, and wasn’t likely to receive any award for its beauty or lack thereof. 

It was a ship to escape war, and that’s what he did.

Yet, at the back of his mind, he wondered if he indeed should have left. He was going AWOL, and this would indeed set some suspicions to higher authorities who were still alive. Would he be shipped back to this place, knowing that his duty was unfinished? It was definitely plausible, nonetheless at this current moment, he was going to delve into the peace within his cabin. Lightly wiping the steam away from his mirror with a towel, the young soldier gazed at his reflection within.

Deep blue eyes gazed to his bare chest before examining his face once more, eventually running his fingers slowly through his wet hair. Freshly cleaned, at least his worries were somewhat suppressed. Venting lightly, Alek then moved to straighten out his uniform on the rack, to let it dry. He had no other clothes to his name, thus would need to wait for it to do so. Towel wrapped around his waist, the pale young man then entered the bedroom, glancing at the camera on the table.

Lightly blinking, he then looked to the end table before glancing back to the table in the middle of the room. Did he move it? Slowly approaching the device, Alek touched it momentarily before retracting his hand once the ceiling light began to flicker. Frozen, like a deer in headlights, the young soldier vented out sharply as he was left in the dark, and the only source of light was dimly coming in from the porthole window. Were they experiencing an outage?

Feeling his way through the darkness, Alek tried flipping the switch several times but to no avail. No light came to expose his surroundings. Once his eyes adjusted, the lieutenant made his way back into the bathroom to search his uniform’s pockets, managing to grab a lighter. Managing to get the flame going, the young soldier moved back out into the living room and towards the entrance, unlocking the door and stepping out into the hallway. 

He gazed down both ends of the hallway, venting in at the total pitch darkness. Was no one doing anything about it? Or did they not notice? Surely everyone couldn’t be asleep all at once. That was dangerous - they were at war. Anything could happen at sea.

Venting in, Alek gripped onto the towel around his waist, and glanced behind him, searching for anyone that might have been in the hallway. Perhaps a crew member, or cleaner. Yet, no one came. It felt as if he was the only one onboard. Slowly moving back into his room, the young soldier was about to close his door before a loud screech of a violin halted him in his place. Was that part of the ship? Were they under attack? 

Going back out into the hallway, Alek panned the lighter around. Lightly swallowing the saliva that pooled in his mouth, the lieutenant then slowly made his way down the hall, in hopes to spot someone. Yet the more he walked, the more did he realize something wasn’t right. 

The hallways weren’t decorated like before, instead, they consisted of only a metal interior. Likened to that of a carriership rather than a luxury liner. This had to be another nightmare, yet once a pinch was delivered to himself, the pain was real. This was indeed real. Why was it real? Goosebumps lightly crawled along his skin, sending shivers down the young man’s spine. Where was everyone?

Coming to a door, Alek pushed it open, gazing into the room within. Some lights were still presently on, thankfully, as he could make out some boxes and crates. Was this storage? Stepping inside, the lieutenant vented in sharply as the lights flickered once more, threatening to give out. Deciding to go back into the hallway, the young soldier closed the door. He didn’t feel brave enough to enter inside, and his instinct was telling him it was surely dangerous. 

He was exposed, had no means of fighting something at the current moment. Glancing to his lighter, Alek started to hyperventilate as it too was threatening to give out. He mumbled lightly in denial, flicking the small switch and watching the flame simply spark and disappear. Squinting his eyes as the lighter finally began to work again, the lieutenant held it out in front of him, unaware of the face over his shoulder.

Deep blue eyes gazed around the corridor, before eventually starting to traverse down the hall, breathing in deep to save his heart’s rapid beating. It was unnerving - not seeing one crew member roaming these halls seemed implausible. The hallways were like a perpetual maze; he would enter into another, then another, seemingly with no end. What was he to expect now? 

And now, he didn’t know what direction his room was in. He had wandered far, and everything looked practically the same of where he started. Flinching as the lights suddenly turned on, Alek shut off his lighter, gazing around the corridor he was in. No longer of that metal interior, but rather of the luxury liner. Yet, the halls were still empty, devoid of any crew or passenger. 

He was only thankful that there was light, but the dreaded feeling was far from over. He began to hear that radio, playing the warped tunes of classical music. It echoed, in the distance, yet from which direction was hard to pinpoint. It was all around him, as if he wasn’t even in a linear hallway, but rather a sphere. The tunes got progressively louder, more warped, almost mistaken for the sound of a plane engine. 

A Stuka plane.

Dropping his lighter and making a run for it, Alek then dropped to the floor as the corridor blew up around him, exposing him to the elements of the outside world. Covering his head from the debris, the young lieutenant then turned onto his back, panting heavily as the ship was practically cut in half from the destruction. Jagged edges of the metal interior and burnt ash from the luxurious carpets floated by like particles. 

Being caught in a current, those embers soon rotated amongst the anti-gravity sphere of rain, the radio still playing the warped tunes of classical music and the droning engine he’s come to recognize in nightmare. The rain made the outline of a figure within that sphere, leaving Alek to squint his eyes as the rain pelted his face. 

The figure was levitating in that air, staring straight into Alek’s soul - with want, or possible need. A desirable need. Panting shallowly, the lieutenant held up his hand to block the blinding light that the figure emanated, squinting his eyes to save his retinas from the burning sensation. 

Feeling himself drop, the lieutenant grunted as he hit his head against the tile in the shower, hissing in pain. Now on the floor, Alek glanced around the bathroom he was in, panting shallowly before yelling out in frustration and uncertainty. Why was he experiencing this? Leaning against the wall, the pale young man soon let his emotions take over, as he curled up in the corner of the shower, bringing his legs in. 

Being sprayed with water masked the tears that rolled down his cheeks; cuddling himself in the corner to suppress his panic attack. He had to be dead - and these were the last 7 minutes of his life. Everything didn’t feel right, even the sickly feeling that took over him returned, yet he couldn’t find it in himself to vomit or expel whatever was making him sick. Blood simply seeped from his nasal cavity, washed away into the drain of the shower, caressing his nude body on the way down.

The water began to run cold, prompting Alek to slowly reach for the faucet and shut it off. Silence filled the bathroom, as the lieutenant kept his hand, shakily on the handle before eventually laying back against the tiled wall, staring distantly at the drain that swallowed the last of the water, disappearing into oblivion. He begged to do the same, to end his nightmare once and for all. 

Glancing to his wrists, Alek hyperventilated as his veins pulsed with that bioluminescence before clenching his deep blue eyes shut. He begged again, before returning his gaze back to his wrists, whimpering as the translucent fluid continued to pump through him. Glitter or sparkle, they exposed the inner workings of his vein capillaries throughout his arm and legs. 

“ **_STOP!_ ** ” He yelled out into the damp air; the lieutenant squeezing his eyes shut once more before settling his hands over his head. Venting heavily, Alek then paused as a knock came to his door.

“Sir, is everything alright in there?” Lightly inhaling, the lieutenant then gazed back to his arms, finding the transparency to be non-existent. His veins no longer glowed, and the sound of another knock to his door finally gave him the will to stand. He moved to the bathroom door and opened it slightly, peeking out to the staff member on the other side. 

“We had gotten complaints that someone was screaming in the middle of the night, coming from your room. Are you unwell?” Standing there in silence, Alek then slowly shook his head, indicating that he was indeed alright, even if the back of his mind screamed at that denial. The staff member then nodded.

“Well, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.” The lieutenant nodded slowly, watching the crew member soon leave his room, closing the door after himself. Lightly thumping his head against the bathroom door, deep blue eyes closed to the sudden exhaustion. Deciding to hurry up and dry off to save himself from freezing, Alek checked his uniform one last time, reaching into the pocket to make sure he still had his items. He did, however one was missing.

The lighter.

Thinking back, Alek then removed his hands from the pockets and simply went to the bed in the other room, leaving the lights on. He didn’t dare to turn them off, and simply climbed into that stiff mattress to lay on his left side, facing the door. If anything, he wanted to be prepared for what else could be thrown at him, if this night was indeed not over. 

He stared to the door, almost in a trance before deep blue eyes slowly began to shut. He blinked, wearily, a few times before the last blink revealed the blurry outline of a man in a blue suit, straightening his tie - eventually succumbing to exhaustion and falling asleep. Like a quick moment, he opened his eyes again, only to find the room bathed in sunlight, rather than artificial. 

Looking around his cabin room, deep blue eyes then slowly glanced up to the porthole window, as he heard seagulls and the sound of deckhands talking amongst each other. Lifting his head some, ignoring the cowlick that was present on his head, Alek tried to wake up, his body weak and still heavy, wanting to return back to the comfort of the mattress.

Sitting there in confusion, the young soldier then gazed out of the porthole window, moving the curtain aside with his fingers. Confusion began to grow with deeper intent, as they were properly docked at a depot, and a vast city in the background. They couldn’t be in the States, could they? However, one look to the right did he find the tall statue on it’s lone island; the Statue of Liberty.

New York.

Alek moved away from the window. Surely they couldn’t have arrived this soon - it should have taken days, or perhaps a week. Moving to the bathroom to redress himself into his soldier’s uniform, seeing as it was dry, the lieutenant collected the broken camera and left the room to leave the ship. Coming to the doorway, he glanced at the guard who saluted him with a smile.

“Welcome to Manhattan, sir.” He gazed at the city before him, looking to the various people along the dock who were awaiting to see their loved ones come over from the wartorn environment of the east, hugging in their reunion. Some waited for practical hours, only to be brought to tears that the one they had hoped for wasn’t onboard. Moving down the ramp, Alek wasn’t sure where to begin. He was now in a place with no connections - hardly any money or identification other than a pair of dog tags with his name and number on them.

This was surely an experienced loss of time. 

Lightly inhaling, Alek slowly sat down on a bench that was on the boardwalk, ignoring the passersby's conversations and the old tunes playing on antique radios in the nearby shops. It was certainly a drastic change, as across the sea was less peaceful. Gazing down to the camera in his hands, the lieutenant wondered if he should find a place to salvage the photos within, as it seemingly was the only thing he had, aside from the clothes on his back. 

“Some people don’t even bat an eye.” Blinking at the sudden voice, Alek turned his head towards that of an old man, who was seated on the same bench he was. Wrinkled, grayed hair and stout, the older gentlemen then glanced over to the young soldier. 

“The only time they roll out the red carpet is when you’re home without a scratch. But better hope to god if you’re not missing anything then they kick you while you’re down. It was always better to die in war than it was coming back with a gaping hole in your stomach. Better to remember your legacy than the moment you crawled back to safety. Survived against all odds, they don’t care for it. Only your memoriam.” The older man stated before rubbing his scratchy beard.

“Eventually… you succumb to your own madness. Because what you’ve seen over there is enough to put you in an asylum. No one dares to point fingers. Pointing fingers means internal conflict.” Alek blinked and slowly looked back to the camera in his hands.

“I recommend visiting the local library to get your facts straight. Who knows… maybe you can escape this nightmare once and for all.” Lifting his head, Alek glanced to where the old man was sitting before blinking in surprise as he was nowhere to be found. Standing up from the bench, the young lieutenant tried to find where the older gentleman went, only for his eyes to spot no familiar figure. 

Catching the eyesight of a few women, the young soldier then gripped his camera close and left, ignoring their flirtatious giggles once he did. Walking down the street and avoiding the cars that drove by, Alek tried to remember what the old man had told him. The local library? Would it actually have the answers to his questions?

He followed the signs, staring up at the buildings that towered over him before catching sight to the public library, and moved to head inside. Of course, when he did, he caught the sight of many people within, confused that a soldier still in uniform was amongst them. Feeling shamed by their eyes, Alek moved to the various aisles to escape their gaze, letting out a deep breath that he subconsciously held in. 

Where was he to start? 

Glancing at the various books on the shelves, Alek looked at the titles among the multicolored ones, as they weren’t exactly what he was looking for. He thought to himself, before deciding on a word. Nightmares. He followed the aisles in their alphabet, deep blue eyes searching amongst the thousands that lined the cases. He grabbed a few, to start, in hopes to skim through their content to find what he was looking for, if it even had something to offer.

Once he had multiple books to carry, the young soldier stacked them onto a table before setting down his camera. Pulling out a chair and taking a seat, Alek took a deep breath before rolling up his sleeves, taking one book from the pile and starting to skim through it. As the minutes ticked by, and he was certain that the book he read through didn’t contain anything of value, he moved onto the next.

Most of them were novels, written in either old English or English he couldn’t directly understand. By the hour, his thumb was sore, prompting a much needed rest to his hand that was slowly cramping and uncomfortable. Taking a deep breath, Alek had wondered if one book could have all the answers he needed. Stretching lightly to relieve his back from hunching over, the young soldier then took another book from the pile, glancing momentarily towards the sound of the librarian dropping one of the books from her hold. 

It wasn’t until he took a second glance did he realize the man at her side. Dressed in a freshly pressed suit, and wielding a briefcase. Staring at the man, a chilling sensation washed over his body, as the facial features were drastically similar to his, if not older.

They stared to each other, before the other had simply turned on his heel, Oxford’s echoing within that quiet environment. Looking around, Alek then stood up from his seat and moved to follow, heading down the aisle and watching the man turn a corner. Lightly breaking into a jog, the young soldier came to the same corner, venting in as he couldn’t see where the man had gone. Glancing down the aisles as he passed, the lieutenant then stopped as he heard someone clear his throat and moved to see where it came from.

Heading down an empty aisle filled with books, Alek glanced in between the shelves, spotting the man on the other side, who was simply thumbing through the selection of non-fiction works before pausing at the presence of the soldier.

“ **_Find what you have been looking for?_ ** ”

“ **_... who are you?_ ** ”

“ **_That… is a question with a multitude of answers. Surely one such as yourself have already provided that... disclaimer, with internal conflict._ ** ” The navy-blue suited man spoke quietly, seeing how they were in a library, and having loud conversations would certainly leave the consumers of the arts to complain. Alek glanced around the aisle he was in before trying to shift some of the books to get a good look at the other’s face, only to see the other’s pronounced backside. 

“ **_I saw you… in my dream. W-What is this? Why are you_ ** **_me_ ** **_?_ ** ”

“ **_To find what you are looking for, one must look in the... right, places, hm?_ ** ” Alek then flinched in surprise to the librarian once again dropping a book beside him, grumbling to herself as she couldn’t keep a grip on them. Glancing back between the books, the man in the suit was gone, prompting the young soldier to run to the other side of the aisle, only to be met with emptiness. 

He had gone, just as quickly as he had appeared.

Glancing to the floor, Alek blinked to the sight before him. The same suit and briefcase the man had - folded neatly on top of each other. The lieutenant looked around, spotting no one amongst the scene, before he gathered the items into his arms and left the aisle. Avoiding eye contact with others, the soldier then entered a bathroom, locking the door behind him. He searched the stalls, to make sure no one was inside before setting the briefcase and suit on the counter.

Fingers lightly felt over the fabric before he neatly set it aside, gazing to the briefcase before him. Alek clicked open the locks, hesitating to take a gander inside. What would he expect? The usual documents or something else? For all he knew, it could be a bomb, and he would be in deep shit.

Shakily clicking the locks back into place, Alek hung his head and leaned over the sink, unsure of what to think. The man looked exactly like him, however older to some degree. Yet, he could never see his eyes, as if they were promptly mosaiced for a reason. Deep blue eyes slowly gazed back to the suit beside him, wondering if he should wear something such as this. Why did he even feel  _ compelled _ to wear it?

His soldier’s uniform wasn’t going to smell that great, and it was already starting to. Being rained and bled on wasn’t exactly causing it to smell like roses. He fought with himself, internally, before deciding to undo his uniform’s buttons. Was he stupid for thinking this was a good idea? Perhaps - this experience was already deemed unmistakably insane. What more could he do to heighten it? 

Stripped down to his skivvies, Alek began to put on the suit pants and shirt, already feeling concerned with how accurately it fit his form. Scarily accurate. Grabbing hold of the tie, the young lieutenant flipped up his collar and began to wrap it in a way he knew how. It wasn’t everyday he wore a suit, let alone one that was as nice as this. Once the tie was done up, Alek gazed at himself in the mirror, before slipping the jacket over his shoulders, inhaling deeply at the splitting image of the man he saw. 

Turning on the faucet to rinse his face and slick his hair back, Alek gazed to himself once more in the mirror, clenching his eyes shut as it scared him. Flinching to the sound of knocking on the door, the young soldier hurriedly grabbed his things and moved to leave, wiping his face free of leftover water before moving past the gentleman who was complaining of the bathroom being locked.

Returning to the table with his camera, the lieutenant sat down and straightened his tie, looking around to see if anyone noticed his sudden change. Yet, they paid him no mind, simply keeping their faces in books or thumbing through the study for their education. Alek sighed heavily, before deep blue eyes settled upon a file that was underneath his broken camera. He couldn’t recall ever placing that there.

Taking hold of the file, Alek flipped it open, squinting his eyes in confusion to the presence of a bus ticket inside. He picked up the ticket and read it over, as it was a one-way to Three Rocks, Oregon. Thinking quietly to himself, the soldier then glanced at the document within, narrowing his eyes at the insurance policy or rather, a deed. Why would he need this? It was definitely hard to read - practically an eye sore. Alek then looked back to the ticket in his left hand; was he actually supposed to go there?

Searching around for a clock, the pale, young soldier then got up from his seat as he was due to board the bus in 10 minutes. If this was his only source of answers, maybe he should take it. Grabbing hold of his uniform and suitcase, Alek soon left the library, examining the bus ticket once more. Now he was blended in with the people; wearing the suit spurred no attention to him, and rather others moved out of the way for him instead.

It didn’t take long for him to reach the station, however the bus he was deemed to get on was already boarding. He showed the ticket and climbed on board, moving to take a seat, settling the briefcase on top of his lap. He watched different passengers get on, ranging from young teens to older folks ready for retirement. Alek glanced down to his uniform, lightly rubbing over the fabric before moving to fold it up neatly, as he had a feeling he wouldn’t be wearing it anytime soon.

For him, the war was over. No one seemed to really recognize him - so he believed to be in the clear. If anything, he was  _ running _ from being re-drafted into the war, with the various locations he was pointed to. And yet, he really wasn’t sure why. He gazed out the window, ignoring the passenger that took a seat next to him, obviously as the bus began to fill up - seats were few and far between. 

Seeing as how this was a bus ride he would take across the country, Alek decided to get comfortable, crossing one leg over the other and pressing his shoulder against the side as he watched some passenger’s families wave goodbye to them. Unfortunately, it reminded him of what he didn’t have. 

A family.

His family wasn’t there to see him off to war, and wasn’t there to see him arrive back. At this point, he couldn’t recall if he  _ ever _ had family. One to call for help or for sanctuary; to tell good news or the bad and receive support. Quietly reflecting to himself, the young soldier closed his eyes as the bus began to move, and drive him to the destination of where he apparently needed to go. 

In the distance, he could see the Statue of Liberty, standing tall and prominent among the land, even if the threat of war lingered to send them into eternal doom. He watched it, slowly begin to disappear from view, as the vibrations of the bus moving began to deliver that sense of ease and exhaustion. Of course, he hadn’t sleep easy during the war for years; trained that way.

Expect the unexpected.

He shifted in his seat to be more comfortable, pressing his forehead against the glass despite the uncomfortable vibrations that rattled into his brain. For the first time, he wasn’t afraid to hear the radio start up within the bus, as it played something he was quite familiar with, instead of the warped, classical tunes that would send his nightmares into a spiraling vortex of terror. 

No, instead it was of the classics, stuff that he heard before enduring the harsh treatment of war, or first starting out. Introduced by his American platoon members, it was always something they were proud of.

Frank Sinatra.

Deep blue eyes watched as the environment passed them by, escaping the city clutches and into the wondered hand of nature. A small smile curled on his lips as he listened to the soothing tunes, before giving into the exhaustion that crept into his body. Sleep took over, and the sound of those tunes faded from his ears into a gentle embrace.


	4. Making Connections

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly was my favorite chapter to write. Really recommend listening to the Half-Life: Alyx Vault Soundtrack mixes while reading this.

Stirring awake to the sound of rain pattering against the window, deep blue eyes opened to gaze to the darkness outside. Seeing as how it was already night, he must have fallen asleep for quite some time. Lightly shifting in his seat, Alek softly yawned and rubbed at his face to wake himself up. Hearing a lighter flick open, the young soldier slowly gazed to the passenger beside him, flinching back in at the sudden appearance of the man in the blue suit, who simply lit a cigarette, inhaling the chemical vapors to relax his nerves.

“ **_Making connections, yet… Alek?_ ** ” The older man soon glanced over to the young soldier, who was busy trying not to fall out of his seat from panic. Glancing around the bus, the lieutenant saw that the passengers within paid no mind to the two look-alikes, rather much preferred to sleep or read their own materials. Staring back at the man who awaited an answer, Alek then narrowed his deep blue eyes.

“... **_You’re not allowed to smoke in here._ ** ” Lightly releasing the vapors from his lungs, the government man simply hummed in slight amusement before placing the lit cigarette into the palm of his hand and crushing it within, eventually opening it to reveal nothing left behind. Alek vented softly to the disappearance of the item before gazing up to his alternate.

“ **_We are often not allowed to do many things, Mr. Seyit - that’s our purpose. We are the providers that provide the way… but not necessarily the reasons._ ** ”

“ **_Then why are you here? Surely you don’t have a reason to approach me now._ ** ”

“ **_My eh-eh-eh-employers… are growing a bit... curious, to your happenstances; your lack of ability to understand. They have authorized me to… approach you, to make sure your task is well at hand._ ** ”

“ **_What task? You didn’t give me any task._ ** ” Deep blue eyes narrowed before softening their expression as the government man lightheartedly chuckled, silence filling the bus they sat in, almost as if they were no longer in motion. He couldn’t hear the faint whispers or snores of the other passengers. Instead, the two were brought into a familiar place that Alek didn’t want to be brought to.

The apartment.

“ **_Recognize, this place?_ ** ”

“... **_Why are we here?_ ** ”

“ **_We_ ** **_will_ ** **_be here… soon enough. For now, we patiently await for things to… tenderly, fall into place._ ** ” Approaching the kitchen, the government man then slowly slid a mug off of the countertop, watching as it began floating within that anti-gravity, rotating within that dim light and buoyancy. Inhaling deeply to the sight before him, Alek then grunted as he was shoved forward, the environment warping around them.

The bureaucratic man remained unaffected, however the young soldier stumbled once the elongation came to a close, and they were present in a new area. Outside, on top of a hydroelectric dam. The sun was seemingly set, and the rushing sound of water below left Alek to wonder what part of the world was this. He could see signs on the wall, graffiti in Cyrillic, yet for the life of him couldn’t make out what it said. 

Mosaiced, once more.

“ **_Still, we are amongst others that are quite… difficult, hm? To persuade. My eh-eh-eh-employers only have so much… time, and patience, for allowance of elusion and illusion._ ** ” Pressing his fingers together, the government man lightly nodded his head as he explained, watching Alek gaze around the environment confusingly. Soon, their location changed once more, a place where the lieutenant had hoped to avoid returning to.

The location of where his troop mates had met their end. Panting shallowly, Alek watched himself from a distance emerge out from the debris the Stuka bombers had tore into, weary and dusty, and obviously disoriented. To see himself fall to his knees, from a third-person point of view, and completely annihilate the enemy frontline that approach with a simple look alone, left goosebumps to crawl along his skin. His blood ran cold - he had done that alone.

Soon the location changed again, and it was at that moment did Alek drop to his own knees. The moment before his supposed chance at redemption - the fight between him and the sniper. The sniper with the upper hand, who could have easily blown him away. The government man then slowly glanced at the young soldier, keeping his fingertips together. Instead, seemingly out of nowhere, the sniper’s life was ended, and Alek was saved. He watched himself, seize up and twitch on that floor as if his very soul wanted to leave his body.

“ **_You were not the first upon their long list of… attributes. However, they saw something in you that was… extraordinary. Very few have their attention, and very few will become of a proper… help? Hm? But rather the right man in the wrong place._ ** ” Alek vented in as the wartorn environment faded, with only his body to remain from the moment in time, still present on the floor for him to look at. Elongated stars passed them by, a place unknown.

“ **_... So I’ve been chosen._ ** ”

“ **_Quite so._ ** ”

“ **_But one thing I don’t understand is why. What makes me so_ ** **_goddamn_ ** **_beneficial more than others?_ ** ” Alek clenched his eyes as a blinding light clouded his vision, before he opened them once more, finding him to be present back on the bus, heading to a destination he couldn’t imagine what would be like. He gazed out the window, venting in quietly as the environment was nature-filled, however not of anything he’s ever seen before.

Flowers that bloomed with luminescence, seemingly encoded with that since their first association, and the skies were filled with circuitry and neurons on a cosmic affiliation. Membranes, connections on a grand scale, consisting of colors he couldn’t fathom to reproduce in paintings. 

It was alien. 

“ **_You’ll find out soon enough._ ** ” The government man lightly straightened his tie as he got up from the passenger seat beside him, causing Alek to look and try to make a grab for him, only for the bureaucrat to disappear from view once he too got up. Looking down the aisle and seats, the soldier then sat back down shyly as some of the passengers gave him a strange look. He gazed back out the window, only to be met with darkness, instead of that extraterrestrial world he previously saw. 

Rain droplets rolled down the window, and the interior ambience of the bus driving over a gravel road was all he could hear. Trying to process what he had just experienced, Alek simply rubbed at his face, trying to contain the emotions he wanted to convey after enduring such a…  _ traumatizing _ memory once again. Amongst a surprising one. That world he saw, something about it was… off-putting.

Sure, he’s heard of the term  _ alien _ before, a bunch of people smoking too much hash looking up at the stars one night. Was all of this actually  _ real _ ? What did he mean by illusion? Was his memory of everything just an illusion? Stopping the deep thoughts, Alek vented in as a headache had spurred on, causing him to cringe lightly to the sore pain. So he wasn’t the first…

Others like him were taken into consideration for these happenings, yet he was the only one who truly fit their bill.  _ Extraordinary _ , he spoke of. He was normal - sure, in the sense of anyone amongst the world, or at least what he thought. He was born, lived through tough childhood, even if… even if he didn’t know his parents. The thing was… why couldn’t he remember specific details?

Sure, going through war and tough terrain would be enough to erase some of the lesser important memories, but why everything? He couldn’t recall where he lived. He just…  _ existed. _

Made into this world, lived in it, fought in it. Nothing  _ extraordinary _ about it. What confused him the most was his alternate’s mention of  _ employers. _ What employers? There were others like him? Someone with that magnitude of power had higher-ups of their own? Just who did he answer to? A cascading chain of command, who was he? Lightly hitting his fist against his temple, Alek growled lightly. 

His mind just couldn’t understand. 

He sat there, deep blue eyes fixated on the seat in front of him, examining the details of the fabric, of faux leather. Squinting his eyes some, the fabric consisted of deep caverns, arranged like that of the membranes he previously saw, yet on a microscopic scale. Retracting his vision from the sight, Alek slowly curled up in the chair, ignoring the soft thud of his briefcase falling to the ground as it slid off his knees.

Blinking lightly as the rain on the windows paused their consistent rolling, and the bus cabin grew eerily silent, Alek slowly gazed around the area, before catching sight to a mug, slowly drifting by, rotating down the aisle. It was the same mug from the apartment, the one the government man had knocked off the counter, yet never hit the ground. Soon, a pulsation of energy sent the mug back in the other direction, as many more objects rose from passengers' hands.

They were frozen in time, set in place - yet paid no mind to the strange sensation of anti-gravity. Lightly standing up from his seat and picking up the briefcase that floated up to him, Alek stood in the middle of that aisle, glancing around at the passengers and driver. At the front of the vehicle was the same government man - the same pulsation of energy that rippled through the air providing a wind current to flare open his suit jacket.

“ **_What… what are you doing?_ ** ” Alek lightly grunted to the slight force of the pulse, gripping onto one of the seats to keep him upright. The vehicle creaked and groaned from stress within the cabin, leaving the young soldier to wonder if they were indeed safe being in this environment. Slowly turning around to face the other, the navy-blue suited man rotated an orb of light, levitating it within his hands.

The light turned and compressed, somatic beams pulsing out with that energy, wind current growing stronger as if they were in the strongest storm. Briefcase snapped open, documents upon documents to spill out like unread love letters in that whirlwind, blocking some of Alek’s vision of staring at the government man before him. He removed them from sticking to his face, panting shallowly.

“ **_You want to know about yourself, don’t you Lieutenant Seyit? That comes at a… price, to pay._ ** ”

“ **_What price?!_ ** ”

“ **_Everything comes at a price, Alek. Life… war… the future._ ** **_We are all indebted to one thing or another. To ourselves or to others._ ** ” Upon his words did they reverberate within his soul, echoing distant and far off, yet loud and clear. Alek tried to keep himself upright by gripping onto one of the seats, squinting his eyes through the rough wind current and debris that began to break off from the bus.

“ **_What does this have to do with me?!_ ** ”

“ **_You are indebted to us._ ** ” Hearing the voice next to his ear, Alek flinched as the wind halted, before time had froze, the objects in the air ceased in position before crashing to the floor, spread out in membranes and neuron networks of the mind. The bus tore itself apart, as if a bomb had exploded, or rather imploded within; debris circling around a new environment of the outside world.

An Icosahedron.

Staring up at the object, Alek felt his heart enter his throat as he was dropped, falling into the deep, dark abyss below. He couldn’t scream; couldn’t think properly as he spiraled into the vantablack, his hand gripping hard onto the handle of the open briefcase, knuckles turning white. It wasn’t until he was slammed back into the seat on the bus, knocking his senses completely off balanced.

“ **_STOP!_ ** ” The young soldier had managed to scream out, panting heavily as the bus screeched to a grinding halt. Getting up from his seat and stumbling down the steps of the vehicle, Alek panted hard and gripped onto a power pole for support.

“Hey! I gotta schedule to keep! You either come back in here, or find your own way, buddy!” Yelling from the bus, the driver ignored the impatient passengers that complained of the unreasonable young man. They all had places to be, and were completely unaware of the soldier’s presence. 

“ **_Then go, goddamn it!_ ** ” Alek yelled back, too sensitive to realize the words that escaped his mouth, before the rest of his items were tossed out and the door was slammed shut. The bus began to leave the young soldier in the dust, headed down the road until it had finally disappeared from view. Keeping a hold onto the power pole, deep blue eyes clenched shut as he tried to control his breathing, panic attack slowly passing.

Softly, the sound of crickets and frogs lulled him back to reality, leaving the young soldier to open his eyes to gaze around the night. A few owl hoots managed to get him upright, to collect his camera and old uniform, before staring down the road of where the bus had left. Perhaps he should have apologized for making such a scene. Now he was left in the middle of nowhere, with no means of transportation.

Lightly undoing his tie, Alek began to make the trek to his destination on foot, despite his feet disliking the idea, due to being in Oxfords, and not in military grade boots. He removed his suit jacket, and carried it within his arm, gazing up at the stars. The storm had finally passed, leaving the moonlight to shine along the land and provide a sense of direction and outline of various trees and farmland.

A moment of peace… of what he needed.

Walking along that path, he took in the sights before him; of course, smacking the usual mosquito or two to prevent getting eaten alive, a minor annoyance that was easily taken care of. It wasn’t until the sound of his footsteps seemed rather echoed, or rather… something was following him. Stopping in his tracks, the young soldier just gave a heavy sigh. 

“ **_I can’t be bothered right now,_ ** ” He spoke quietly, before beginning on his walk again, shifting the briefcase within his hand to his other, Alek sighed as his footsteps were no longer out of tune, as it was just himself again. Seems like the other respected his wishes, or was awaiting for the perfect time to send him on to another dreamlike destination.

Either way, a moment of peace was what he  _ desperately _ needed, before that were to happen again. Twice in one night was risking a lot of things, mostly the pale young man’s mental stability. Going through war was one thing, but going through interdimensional travel was another. At this point…

He should expect the unexpected.

It was starting to… dwindle on him, a bit. Lessen the effect, and more of just primary acceptance to it all. What else could he do? Scream? Run? Beg for forgiveness? Being indebted to someone he can’t even begin to think of who gave him the choice - in the first place - was all more actually making sense to a moral degree. He was offered a choice, he took it, end of story - his soul in eternal damnation. 

Frankly, he was starting to become alright with it. 

Stopping in place, Alek then snorted out. What was he even thinking? Of course he wasn’t okay with it! He was sick, all the time; experiencing some roller coaster of emotions that he could wrap his head around. The extraterrestrial world, or whatever it was, basically rewriting science as it was! Continuing on his walk, the young soldier simply closed his eyes, letting his legs continue subconsciously to carry him to his destination. 

If anything, death was the only escape.

Coming to a bus stop in the middle of a dirt road, Alek soon took upon himself to sit down on the bench for rest. It was likely he had been walking for a good hour or so, and the sounds of the night were all but in full bloom. Crickets, frogs, owls… and the occasional coyote. Slapping his hand, the young soldier cursed as he missed a mosquito that attempted to dock him, before eventually giving up and setting down his items to give his sore arms a break. 

He gazed up to the stars, counting the amount of them momentarily. Surprisingly, a lot more than what he had previously seen in the cities. Of course, some of those stars in the city wouldn’t be stagnant, but rather occupied with the idea to fall to the Earth once they were shot down. Enemy or alliance planes, nothing more. It was all the same. Fight, then death. 

Lightly rubbing the rayon fabric between his fingers, Alek tried to make sense of what he saw. That shape… the icosahedron. It was suspended in air, surrounded by… beams of kinetic energy. Surely that couldn’t be the government man’s  _ employers. _ It looked more like a prison cell than a power supply. Softly sighing to himself, the lieutenant then flinched once the government man was seated next to him, one leg folded over the other in a poised manner.

“ **_Don’t you have anything better to do?_ ** ”

“ **_Plenty._ ** ”

“ **_Then why are you here?_ ** ”

“ **_To make sure you’re still on topic, Mr. Seyit._ ** ”

“ **_I am taking a simple break, can your…_ ** **_employers_ ** **_, just allow me a moment’s rest? I’m not going to make it to Oregon in just one night. It’s thousands of miles away._ ** ” Alek lightly rubbed his face free of small bugs that landed on him.

“ **_You’ve been in war, lieutenant. Surely you can… adapt, to more suitable circumstances._ ** ”

“ **_No, I had enough of your witchery for one night. Just leave me be._ ** ”

“ **_I grow tired of watching you at… snail’s pace. Either you adapt, or… well, we’ll see about that._ ** ” The government man lightly fixed his tie, seemingly unaffected by the bugs that were flying amongst the environment. Of course, they didn’t dare to land on him, thus continued to barrage the young soldier instead.

“ **_Are you-- you’re_ ** **_me_ ** **_. You’re_ ** **_me_ ** **_and you’re making_ ** **_threats_ ** **_._ ** ”

“ **_Adaptation, Mr. Seyit. Perhaps you need another lesson upon why my eh-eh-eh-employers… don’t value patience._ ** ” The bureaucratic man soon lifted his hand, to which Alek simply cowered away and held up his hands.

“ **_Stop. Enough. Look… I’ve been through a lot over the past couple of days, and if you’re me, you’d understand. I can’t process everything you keep throwing at me._ ** ” Silence filled the air between them, as the two alternates stared to one another. Keeping a hold on their eyesight, the government man then glanced away, illuminated eyes examining the various wildlife sounds around them.

“ **_Then I suggest you… get a move on._ ** ” The government man then warped away from the other’s location, leaving Alek’s hair to ruffle from the wind current produced. Lightly sighing, the lieutenant then gathered his things and began to walk on the trail again, returning his deep blue eyes to the sky. 

Did not value patience. 

Quietly thinking to himself, the young soldier’s eyebrows then furrowed as he dug his hand into his uniform’s pockets, as if searching for a specific item. Feeling his heart drop, Alek clenched his eyes shut. Sampson’s dog tags… he must have dropped them a while back. Even if he had a moment to mourn his death by giving them a proper burial, losing the dog tags was just as worse as not providing the service. 

It felt as if the whole world was against him, and yet he still managed to pull through strong. The ability to survive against all odds, despite being left with drastic, terrifying, emotional memories that would stick by him for eternity. What kind of life was that? If he even considered himself having a life to begin with?

He thought that the government man - seeing as how he was an exact duplicate of himself - would be the one to stir him away from these happenings. To warn him of what was to come, or prevent him from making such an illusion of free choice. Instead, he was led on, shown things that were… by all means  _ crazy _ . An intellectual boundary unseen by mankind. Who he had become, or will become, was terrifying.

The more he traversed that linear path, did memories flash by in particles. Memories of fights… deaths… total destruction. In a way, he was fighting a war without necessarily having an enemy. An opposing force. He swallowed that saliva that pooled in his mouth, slowly feeling his very essence to wither away. Willpower and all, acceptance. Lightly venting in, Alek slowly reached to wipe the vermillion that dripped from his philtrum, ignoring the churning, sickly sensation within his stomach.

What did he want? What was his purpose?

He passed by that nature, that slowly succumbed to their own wither, as if the seasons had come and gone in the blink of an eye - withering, growing, withering to lifeless husks before growing to full bloom of life. Flora soon grew their own luminescence, sprouting blue or green glows, as others spotted in purple or red. A sea of colors, much like the prisms he saw previously.

No longer did he walk that dirt path, instead he walked extraterrestrial terrain, the skies turning bright with membrane and neuron, pulsating with life and energy. Wiping his nasal cavity free of blood that seeped, droplets that fell were caught in the gentle, jovial anti-gravity, floating among various particles that could easily be mistaken for specks of glitter. The shined with such brightness at the right angles, pulsations of energy to shift them outwards, to spread like stars in the night sky.

They rotated with gentle intent, without any care.

The more closer he traveled to the blinding light, did the terrain give up on a physical form, breaking apart into pieces; large chunks that would give way after he stepped upon them, floating off into the nothingness that spread with his very presence. A total takeover; warped violins screeched and drove those pristine environments away, reverberations to the very air he breathed with the energy pulse.

The radios began to play, not all at one, but at different increments - a mess of noise but in complete harmony. Playing classical tunes with mystery static, and hidden vague voices amongst the frequencies. Frequencies achievable by man or like kind. Those voices whispered, beckoning the man closer to ruin and perpetuity, a choir to ill intent. He ignored them, flashes of blue and red to spark a change of environment, as he found himself encased within the very chamber.

Alongside the icosahedron - a shadow figure within, poised, respected, captured in the palm of their hand. Suddenly, a voice to cut through the frequencies - a woman? No, not a woman. Nor of a man. Of something. Something he couldn’t dare to recognize, yet familiarity struck in. The realms collided with each other, breaking that chamber apart to reveal the outside world, sun and moon chasing each other in a constant cycle, stars remain in place. 

A chase never ending.

He approached the icosahedron, a gentle hand to raise and press against the technology that held such a character inside. The chamber around him warped and elongated, hardly threatening to compress him along with that space as the glass shattered to his touch, drifting in buoyancy, before acting as projectiles to end any enemy who dared to stop this desired rescue. He glanced at the man inside - himself - who simply held up the briefcase and drifted it towards the other.

Alek reached out to touch it, before a blinding light filled the chamber, and the warped noises of the realm ceased to eternal silence. It wasn’t until the sound of sea waves rolling onto shore, left the young soldier’s vision to halt being impaired. Deep blue eyes gazed out to the open ocean, glancing at the swirling, somatic beams in the distant horizon, pulsing out like mass ejections of a star; of established power. 

He had arrived.


	5. Minute By Moment

Wind rustled his hair, as he wearily gazed around the environment. No longer on a gravel road or extraterrestrial terrain, but rather on a sandy beach. A long stretch of the shore, extending for miles in both directions. The pale somatic beams swirled in the distance, refusing to give up their unrelinquished energy until matters were finally spoken at hand. What those matters were - supposedly were here to take advantage of.

Slowly adjusting his tie, the young soldier glanced behind him, venting as he was only met with a wall of trees. The thick brush would have easily snagged onto his suit, ripping it to practical shreds. Instead, Alek glanced down at himself, seeing as no thread of his suit was hardly plucked or frayed. Poise, respected.

_ As it should be _ .

Lightly inhaling, the young soldier glanced to his right, blinking as he caught sight to an old shack, hidden away amongst the trees that met the shore. Camera in hand, the pale man stumbled across the sandy beach in his Oxfords, approaching up to the shack. He gazed into the open door, venting lightly as no one was deemed inside.

He entered, carefully, still on alert of what his drill instructor etched into him. Expect the unexpected and be ready for it. Alek softly vented as he didn’t see anything of value inside, and simply set down his own items. Perhaps this could be a place he could call his own. However, it was a wonder where exactly he was, as this place wasn’t easily recognizable. No one to call his neighbors, or even his alternate self showed.

He stood within that quiet cabin, hearing the faint sounds of old war coordinates - ghostly voices of his platoon mates that were doomed from the very start, when they signed up for war. He was one to talk; Alek knew what he also signed up for, when entering that drafting office. He was going to do his country proud, make something of himself. Yet the voices that spoke - spoke with harsh meaning. A mockery, an annoyance.

It was his fault.

He refrained from talking back, gazing into the darkness of the cabin, illuminated eyes only showing up in mere refracted light rather than staying constant. The muffled engines of a Stuka plane played over that forbidden radio, amongst the classical tunes of warped enterprise.

  
  


As night crept along, Alek carefully opened the cover of the camera that held the film within, making sure it wasn’t entirely damaged and he could save the photo within. Suit jacket off to relieve the constricted movement, the young soldier smiled lightly as he salvaged the film, or at least part of it that mattered most. Holding it within his hands, a wave of emotion soon came over him, and deep blue eyes began to fill with tears.

Even if days had passed him by like nothing… it was a mere minute for his understanding. Letting out a choked cry, the pale man slowly hung his head, shaking lightly to the realization of him being truly alone. He was picked for that eternal damnation - for sporting something they desired. Yet the death of his comrades came swift and sudden, and he was reaping the consequences. Was this retribution? For him not dying along with his platoon? Or even warning them of their death quick enough? 

“ **_It’s neither._ ** ” Snapping his head upwards to the voice, Alek vented sharply as the same man from before was looking at items on the wall, presented as if they had been there the entire time, before glancing at the young soldier who was sat on the floor. The wall was covered in pictures and paintings of the moments captured by war, Death, destruction, before evidently fading into moments of his life that he couldn’t remember. 

Why couldn’t he remember?

“ **_What do you w-want from me…? Haven’t I endured enough?_ ** ” Approaching the young soldier, the man in the suit then touched his chin to lift his face, illuminated eyes gazing over the smoothness of his skin before glancing back into those deep blue eyes.

“ **_This is only the beginning unless you accept your fate._ ** ”

“ **_What fate?! My fate was to the battlefield! To die an honorable death for my country, not jump through… through time!_ ** ” Staring at the younger alternate, the older simply clicked his tongue in shame before releasing the other’s face.

“ **_Dying is another moment of minute. The kind we cease to have with debauchery. It means nothing to us. It only hinders the true task at hand, Mr. Seyit… serving our debt. You have served your country well enough to be taken into accord, the only thing you cease to understand is realizing your choice for that process._ ** ”

“ **_What choice? There wasn’t any choice. You played into my emotions, and now you cease to halt them. Which do you truly prefer?_ ** ”

“ **_Obedience. That’s what they prefer._ ** ” The government man slowly stood up from the other and circled him, leaving Alek hang his head in pressure.

“ **_Who are they?_ ** ”

“ **_What they are… hm. Collective agreement - anything and everything._ ** ” The bureaucratic man lightly adjusted his tie, before glancing at the soldier upon the floor. Blinking lightly in slight surprise, the pale man watched as Alek had broken off a piece of the glass lens from the camera, raising it up to his wrists. His veins began to pulsate with translucency, sweat beginning to drip down his forehead - and nose seeping with sanguine to a gentle stream.

“ **_... Release me._ ** ”

“ **_... They will not allow it_ ** \--”

“ **_\--RELEASE ME!_ ** ” Yelling out within that cabin, Alek shakily pressed the glass to his wrist, yet not dense enough to cut into the skin. The navy-blue suited man then inhaled sharply as the soldier was knocked away, before joining among different items to that buoyancy. Drifting upside down, the lieutenant panted hard and shallowly, feeling his body constrict and seize from hurting himself. Deep blue eyes filled with tears, before catching sight to the government man who approached him slowly.

“ **_... They… will not allow it._ ** ” Speaking with such softness, the bureaucrat then watched as the soldier was dropped onto the floor, who stumbled to sit up onto his knees. He approached the other once more, before blinking as the other cowered back.  ****

“ **_Discipline will go far and wide for you. Our eh-eh-eh-employers, will see to it._ ** ” Kneeling to the other once more, the government man then pushed the other onto his back before looming over him. Body frozen in fear, Alek vented in quietly as his throat closed with the anxieties that sprouted within, lightly kicking his feet as the other had begun to merge with him. It was an obscene pain. One his mind couldn’t fathom to recognize, the scale above any association known. 

He couldn’t scream, couldn’t call for help. This was a fate he couldn’t run from. Despite his pain, did memories play back in his head of the war; fighting alongside his platoon mates, or discussing good fighting tactics for training. Bootcamp, learning to expect the unexpected. However this… this was something he never expected.

He wasn’t trained for this.

Deep blue eyes then slowly began to clench, as the other continued to merge, veins pulsating with pressure, hypertension settling in like wildfire, spreading along his feeble body. Color began to leave him, as it had originally been doing so slowly, since that moment with the sniper.

As the older alternate disappeared above him, and his feet ceased their kicking with soft intent. No sounds emanated from within that cabin, the pictures and items caught in that purgatory-like buoyancy smashing to the floor. The somatic beams that originally pulsed with occurance of energy had ceased their final glow in the horizon, returning to the main source of energy for this planet - the Sun - to peak in the rise.

Laying there on the floor, Alek then slowly rose to sit up, head lightly turning to gaze at the dog tags that were beside him. His own, still etched with his name and number. Standing up and grabbing hold of his suit jacket, the pale man had soon slipped it around his shoulders, buttoning it up with poise and grace. Gazing to the mirror on the wall, he glanced to the illuminated eyes that stared back, before turning to collect his briefcase, fingers delicately curling around the handle.

Leaving the small cabin and the contents within behind, the bureaucratic man lightly fixed his tie, staring out to the distant sea upon the sunshine that tenderly caressed his face. The government man cleared his throat before slowly making his way down the beachfront before eventually warping out of the area.

Within the cabin, drifted the small particles of that one mankind, a tiny flutter of life subsequently ceased as the sun’s rays warmed up that icy-cold environment within. The sea breeze had drifted the curtains apart, and in those remaining years, did nature take its claim - webbing to drift amongst the old world items, shrouding them in mystery. The old photo of the platoon mates, hung peacefully on the wall, reminding one of pleasant times before ultimate destruction.

Elsewhere, in the deserted lands of New Mexico, the government man gazed up at the facility that was on his next list of agendas. He entered inside, with little credentials to show, and presented himself on the tram of the facility he recognized before. Whispers filled his head and mind, soul and body, before ceasing at the sight of the other tram moving along the track across from him.

In that mere moment, did the entities reveal the plan of action. The death, the despair, the bravery and courage over the course of years to be taken in place. Yet, they did not have a face in that current moment. 

Until now.

Eyes settled upon that of the man within, goatee, glasses - dressed in lab wear, and most likely on his way to work, latened depending on the repeated message of current time and temperature. It was the first time the other had glanced at him, seemingly confused and curious to the pale man’s presence. Once the tram had left, the G-man then grinned lightly, eyes illuminating to their desirable blue.

Limitless potential.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading my work! I hope you enjoyed!


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